Celtic’s reported move for Australian talent Marco Tilio makes sense on multiple fronts, not least because it’s further evidence of the club again using contacts and connections across the City Group.
The Bhoys are said to have agreed on a fee with Melbourne City for the 21-year-old attacker, with personal terms and a medical still to be completed.
Melbourne City are one of the sides that fall under the umbrella of Manchester City’s global network and Tilio would just be the latest in a long line of talents to make a switch to the Bhoys from there.
Olivier Ntcham, Patrick Roberts and Jeremie Frimpong are some of the names who have found regular football in Glasgow – while Celtic even found the successful manager Ange Postecoglou at one of the group’s clubs Yokohama F.Marinos.
For some fans, this informal connection is an uneasy alliance. Nobody likes to think of Celtic beholden to another or locked into one kind of market or contact book. But it all comes to the club more naturally now than it ever did.
With Mark Lawwell in place as the club’s head of scouting and recruitment, it’s a much more organic relationship. Lawwell was employed at the City Group for most of the last decade, so it makes perfect sense he will be utilising that knowledge and using his contacts to source deals that make sense for the club.
Far from being harmful, Celtic’s pursuit of City Group personnel has been much more of a benefit than a hindrance over the years. Clearly, there’s a lot of footballing knowledge to source from their staff, scouts and coaches across the world.
It comes in tandem with the club now also pursuing leads in South America, South Korea and Scandinavia for potential transfers. The approach looks balanced and positive for Celtic. From the outside, it no longer feels like the club are narrow-minded about potential signings, despite the ongoing relationship with City.
Brendan Rodgers has already stated his happiness with the set-up under Lawwell, speaking with him at length before agreeing to return to the dugout. Odin Thiago Holm was no doubt discussed in depth and Marco Tilio was likely a topic too.
As long as there’s a unified approach to recruitment across the club then fans will have hope that more gems are on the way, whether we’re using City’s network or not.
In other news, Newspapers go where broadcasters didn’t with Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers; tightrope walked.
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